Then and now...

The very first time you ever saw Michael Jackson do the Moonwalk, you had to be either in awe or intrigued. My favorite thing about watching Michael do the Moonwalk was that it allowed him to walk away from someone backwards; still looking at them- bold- and with captivating smoothness. The Moonwalk personifies how someone should walk away from their "Doubters" aka "haters".

No matter where you work or what you do, everyone has a place they call the "lounge". For some, the lounge is literally inside their place of work, and for others it's the "hangout/drinking spot" outside of work; you know the place where a group of people from work get together and just talk filthy about anything and anyone that has corrupted their day. We've all been visitors of hate in the lounge; the professional gossipers and naysayers.

You leave the lounge in two moods: fulfilled that others validate your complaints or angrier because somebody said something negative that really hit too close to home; which of course gravely offended you. On top of it all, you generally learn another rumor or something you didn't know about someone else, which puts you right back in that continuous negative cycle. It took me years of learned wisdom to recognize the "lounge" was the most sought out place for "haters" to recruit "Doubters".

It's the old saying, "Misery loves company". Those who project negativity certainly don't want to be gratifying of those who seek positivity. Take your worse enemy, if he or she has ambition their ambition will likely drive you to want more; do more; have more. Take your best friend, and if he or she lacks ambition then you're more likely to do less, do the same, or do slightly better than him or her. Why is this?

The most present extricate or external motivation is your surroundings. The people you see and the places you go will Influence the way you live. This is not a theory, it's a living fact. How they influence you is completely controlled by your morals and values, or lack there of. I continue to find myself in isolation of those who simply can't think on my level; not necessarily get on my level but THINK on my level. Many people assume that when you don't associate or fade from the "same scene" they are in, then you must think "you're better than them". But the fact of the matter is, if you never water your seed then it will be the same seed it always was just like the next unwatered seed in the dirt next to it. It will die from lack of care, preservation, and presence. The seed that's being watered to your right will out grow you, and the one to your left not being watered will want you to stay and die off with it or before it; thus, the illustration of a "hater".

Doubters don't want you to grow beyond their potential, their status, or their livelihood. They are absolutely satisfied with your failures and your un-productivity. They may not mean to be, but they can't help it. They don't understand or know anything other than their way of living. They've forgotten how to WANT, NEED, and DESIRE something so much that you sleep wideawake thinking about it, and you grind for it with persistent organized insanity and passion.

Today, identify the Doubters in your life and begin Moonwalking away; eyes wide open, never looking over your shoulder- smooth- so you can always see them coming...